The Important Future of Pest Management

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Ladybugs are an important part of IPM as predatory insects (Image Source: PlantCareToday)

Since Rachel Carson's release of Silent Spring in 1962, pesticide use has changed for good. While it has not necessarily gone down in use (barring certain specific pesticides like DDT), the discussion about their harm to human and non-human animals and plants has not stopped. 

An example of broadcast pesticide application (Image Source: iStockphoto.com by Getty Images)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has since been introduced as a common and increasing practice. IPM is a system of pest management that attempts to manage pests while causing the least amount of harm to "people, property, and the environment" (EPA, n.d.). The IPM Institute of North America also defines IPM as "a sustainable, science-based, decision-making process that combines biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools to identify, manage and reduce risk from pests and pest management tools and strategies in a way that minimizes overall economic, health and environmental risks" (IPM Institute, 2018). 

As you can see, IPM goes beyond pesticide application. In fact, most IPM plans seek to use pesticides as a last resort. So how do we manage pests in a way that causes the least amount of harm to the environment, the farmer, and the wallet?

IPM can be broken down into several other initial responses before resorting to pesticide use (EPA, n.d., IPM Institute, 2018):

1. Set Action Thresholds - First, there must be a decision about when it is necessary to intervene in pest herbivory. How far is too far? This will prevent excess energy spending and resources waste.

2. Monitor and Identify Pests - The key to knowing a) what to target and b) how effective IPM plans are is to constantly monitor presence of pests, as well as beneficial insects. It is important to understand what other organisms you do not want to kill.

3. Prevention - "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This is certainly true when it comes to taking initial steps in IPM. This is where practices like soil preparation, sanitization, good record keeping, and cultural practices like rotational cropping and early harvests come in.

4. Control - If preventative measures are not working, IPM considers the risk and effectiveness of control methods, starting with the application of the lowest risk with highest effectiveness first.

The cyclical nature of IPM (Image Source: farmbiosecurity)


For more examples of key practices for Agricultural IPM, visit the IPM Institute website.

Streamline Farms in Montana (video) provides an example of IPM done well. This is a more unique example, as these farmers grow their tomatoes within a highly controlled greenhouse environment. They implement preventative strategies such as changing clothes and sanitizing tools. 

IPM sometimes looks like something small like applying crushed eggshells around plants to provide calcium or inhibit slugs. The GT Butterfly and Bug Zoo implemented their own alternative pest control as not to harm the butterflies: birds. Animals and other predatory insects are another important aspect to IPM.

Why is this important? 

There are a couple of reasons that IPM is something we should care about. For one, as agriculture continues to (somewhat wildly) expand, pesticides and herbicides are mass-produced and mass-applied, excess makes it's way into our air, waterways, and our food. These can not only have negative affects on human populations, but also on other organisms in those systems or through which those systems run. 

Beyond being an ecological and health problem, pesticide use is also a financial problem. For one, we consider the farmer. While we may not be farmers ourselves (yet), we must consider the situation of those who provide food for us every single day. I do not think I have to remind us that agriculture is not an especially financially gratifying or secure occupation. Pests wrecking farmer's crops is not a viable solution, even if it spares environmental harm. At the same time, investing in pesticides and trying to constantly get ahead of pests as they develop resistance is exhausting and puts all of the eggs in one basket. IPM provides a multiple-strategy attack that allows for safety nets and hopefully long-term pay off. 


Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbn_7svSj5E

https://ipminstitute.org/what-is-integrated-pest-management/

https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/integrated-pest-management-ipm-principles

https://www.northeastipm.org/about-us/publications/ipm-insights/chemical-ecology-could-address-pests-help-pollinators/

https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/What-is-IPM/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20changing%20irrigation%20practices,increase%20root%20disease%20and%20weeds.&text=Mechanical%20and%20physical%20controls%20kill,are%20examples%20of%20mechanical%20control.

https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/fabe-532

https://plantcaretoday.com/pests-ladybugs-eat.html

https://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/what-is-integrated-pest-management/


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